Emergency Community Water Assistance Grants (10.763)
Emergency Community Water Assistance Grants (Assistance Listing 10.763) is run by the Rural Utilities Service, part of the Department of Agriculture. It awarded $66.0 million in 188 grants from fiscal 2021 to 2025, about $350,881 per award on average. No funding opportunity is open on Grants.gov right now.
The typical award was $150,000. Half of the 188 awards fell between $94,566 and $599,000, and they ranged from $3,000 to $1.0 million.
- Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$66.0 million
- Grant awards188
- Typical award$150,000
- Awarded in FY 2025$10.5 million
- Size rank940 of 1,823
- Type of assistanceProject grants
Key findings
- Annual funding fell from $13.0 million in fiscal 2021 to $10.5 million in fiscal 2025.
- It is the 940th largest of 1,823 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
- The 20 largest recipients received 35% of the money.
- Awards went to recipients in 35 states and territories.
What the program funds
The objective of the ECWAG program is to assist the residents of rural areas that have experienced a significant decline in quantity or quality of water, or in which such a decline is considered imminent, to obtain or maintain adequate quantities of water that meets the standards set by the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).
Open opportunities
No opportunity under this program is open or forecast on Grants.gov right now. Programs often post once a year, so the funding history below shows what to expect.
Rules from the program listing
Who can apply
Eligible applicants include (1) Public bodies or governmental entities such as municipalities, counties, districts, authorities, and other political subdivisions of a State, (2) nonprofit organizations such as associations, cooperatives, and private nonprofit corporations, (3) Native American Indian tribes on Federal and State reservations and other federally recognized Indian tribes. Projects must serve rural areas, excluding any city or town having a population greater than 10,000.
What the money can and cannot pay for
Grants may be used for existing systems which have experienced an emergency event (such as drought, earthquake, hurricane or tornado): (1) to alleviate a significant decline in the available quantity or quality of water by constructing new wells, reservoirs, transmission lines, treatment plants, and other sources of water; (2) To extend or repair distribution waterlines, repair breaks, and pay for operation and maintenance items that remedy an acute shortage or significant decline in the quality or quantity of potable water; and, (3) To assist rural water systems comply with the requirements of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act or the Safe Drinking Water Act when noncompliance is related directly to a recent decline in quality of potable water. Grants made to alleviate a significant decline in quantity or quality of water available from the water supplies in rural areas that occurred within two years of filing an application with USDA cannot exceed $1,000,000. Grants for repairs, partial replacement, or significant maintenance on an established system cannot exceed $150,000.
Matching requirements
This program has no statutory formula. Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.
Deadlines
Deadlines do not apply
Award range and average, in the agency's words
$32,000 to $1,000,000. Average: $425,715.
Examples of funded projects
Fiscal Year2025: Replace water line and appurtenances that were exposed due to excessive rainfall and flooding. The project involved boring a new 4-inch waterline beneath the river to re-establish a full-capacity, permanent crossing. Construct an emergency intake structure to prevent future intake obstructions during times of excessive precipitation. Project also involved the replacement of high service pumps and raw water pump station wet well.
Funding history and past recipients
From fiscal 2021 to 2025, Emergency Community Water Assistance Grants (10.763) awarded $66.0 million across 188 grant awards, an average of $350,881 per award.
| Recipient | State | Awards | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autoridad de Acueductos y Alcantarillados de PR | Puerto Rico | 34 | $3.7 million |
| City of Detroit | Oregon | 2 | $1.1 million |
| Denison, City of | Iowa | 2 | $1.1 million |
| Yellow Pine Water Users Association, Inc. | Idaho | 2 | $1.1 million |
| Tishomingo Municipal Authority | Oklahoma | 2 | $1.1 million |
| Kanosh Town | Utah | 2 | $1.0 million |
| City of Ironwood | Michigan | 1 | $1.0 million |
| Terrace Lakes Water Company | Idaho | 1 | $1.0 million |
| Pauls Valley Municipal Authority | Oklahoma | 1 | $1.0 million |
| City of Oakley | Idaho | 1 | $1.0 million |
| Holden Town | Utah | 1 | $1.0 million |
| Ozark MTN Reg Public Water Auth | Arkansas | 1 | $1.0 million |
| Zapata County Sheriffs Office | Texas | 1 | $1.0 million |
| Leamington Town | Utah | 1 | $1.0 million |
| Regional Water | Iowa | 1 | $1.0 million |
| Siesta Shores Wcid | Texas | 1 | $1.0 million |
| Noatak Native Village of | Alaska | 1 | $1.0 million |
| Dunklin County Public Sewer District #1 | Missouri | 3 | $1.0 million |
| The Water Works & Sewer Board of the Tow | Alabama | 1 | $1.0 million |
| Aurora-Brule Rural Water System Inc | South Dakota | 1 | $1.0 million |
Who usually wins
State and local governments received 4.7% of the money, nonprofits less than 0.1%.
| Recipient type | Awards | Amount | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 176 | $62.8 million | 95% |
| State and local governments | 11 | $3.1 million | 4.7% |
| Nonprofits | 1 | $34,300 | less than 0.1% |
By state
20 states have a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards.
| State | Awards | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Oregon | 13 | $7.1 million |
| Texas | 13 | $5.9 million |
| Utah | 8 | $5.4 million |
| Iowa | 9 | $5.3 million |
| Alaska | 11 | $5.0 million |
| Oklahoma | 15 | $4.9 million |
| Idaho | 6 | $4.0 million |
| Puerto Rico | 36 | $3.7 million |
| South Dakota | 5 | $2.2 million |
| Illinois | 18 | $2.1 million |
| New York | 5 | $2.1 million |
| Tennessee | 4 | $1.7 million |
| California | 3 | $1.5 million |
| Alabama | 6 | $1.5 million |
| Florida | 2 | $1.2 million |
| New Mexico | 2 | $1.2 million |
| Arkansas | 2 | $1.0 million |
| Michigan | 1 | $1.0 million |
| Missouri | 3 | $1.0 million |
| West Virginia | 1 | $1.0 million |
| Kansas | 2 | $990,000 |
| Montana | 5 | $936,570 |
| New Jersey | 1 | $932,165 |
| Minnesota | 2 | $767,378 |
| Delaware | 1 | $712,576 |
| Virginia | 2 | $528,483 |
| Vermont | 1 | $426,000 |
| North Dakota | 3 | $412,797 |
| Nebraska | 2 | $375,000 |
| Rhode Island | 1 | $286,000 |
| Massachusetts | 1 | $150,000 |
| Mississippi | 1 | $150,000 |
| Nevada | 1 | $150,000 |
| Maryland | 1 | $116,131 |
| North Carolina | 1 | $85,677 |